This is a good news story. It starts out with political greed, but ends on a bright note. The mayor and councillors of the town of Orangeville, Ontario voted themselves huge pay increases. The mayors was in the neighbourhood of a 62% jump. When the citizens found out they fought back. Enough pressure was applied that the increase was dropped, any future council raises will be studied by an independant committee, and any raises agreed upon will be for the next set of elected officials. Check the Orangeville Citizen and the Orangeville Banner for complete and correct details.

We expect this from politicians as there really aren’t any leaders these days. However, I’m more concerned that this only affected non-union staff as it obviously shows their bias.

And they wonder why home owners and businesses are moving to the 905 area or completely out of Ontario?

It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their selfish purposes. Distinctions in society will always exist under every just government. Equality of talents, of education, or of wealth can not be produced by human institutions. In the full enjoyment of the gifts of Heaven and the fruits of superior industry, economy, and virtue, every man is equally entitled to protection by law; but when the laws undertake to add to these natural and just advantages artificial distinctions, to grant titles, gratuities, and exclusive privileges, to make the rich richer and the potent more powerful, the humble members of society — the farmers, mechanics, and laborers — who have neither the time nor the means of securing like favors to themselves, have a right to complain of the injustice of their government. There are no necessary evils in government. Its evils exist only in its abuses. If it would confine itself to equal protection, and, as Heaven does its rains, shower its favors alike on the high and the low, the rich and the poor, it would be an unqualified blessing.
Andrew Jackson – 7th President of the UNITED STATES

Why is anyone surprised by the actions of Comrade Chairman Miller and his sycophants on Council in the People’s Republic of Toronto. He and his gang of idiots are live examples of Orwell’s Animal Farm, demonstrating on a daily basis that while all pigs are equal, some pigs are more equal than others.

So long as the socialist dingbats in Toronto continue to expect something for nothing, nothing is going to change. The only legal course of action is to work to ensure that this exceedingly dangerous man and his acolytes don’t get re-elected. Frankly I have no confidence that this will occur because of the demographic of a city that gave us (like a plague) both Taliban Jack Layton and Olivia “have my lunch and eat yours too” Chow.

Toronto screws itself in the butt regularly.

I hope no real pigs were offended by the comparison to Chairman Mao, I mean Miller.

Our business is down 50% but our property taxes are up again this year.
Our city is hiring 11 additional employees and no reductions in pay.
There is almost no big manufacturers here any more and small business
is suffering.
We also rent out a few business buildings and have not had any increase in 15 years as the city keeps raising the taxes so they take what should be
our adjustment for inflation. Then the feds take 46% of the rent in income tax. Socialism is alive and growing in this country.
I see no chance of this depression ending until I see big governments and
their unions take a big cut in numbers and pay.Government is not the
answer it is the problem.

Once again those who can get increases and a whole lot of money for doing really little work get paid, and paid handsomely. Those who do the grunt work, the really needed work in society, keeping things clean, stuff repaired the ship so to speak in shape; get what, not very much or better, the truth, NOTHING! Same old, same old!

It really is baseball bat time for these ridiculous people! What a collection! They seem to have perfected the science of stealing from the population at large, lining their pockets for the benefit of no-one and getting away with it - this is inspite of the fact that they have no talent in anything. None of them would get a real job in the world at large. Miller, Vaughan, Moscoe. Shameless and incompetent, they get “elected” by a tiny percentage of the voters lists. We are generally too idle, self-satisfied and badly educated to realize that Metro Hall is where our lives are really made miserable and expensive. The return for us is tax upon tax upon tax for only minimum service. The rotten system is perpetuated by their using our money to bribe the bully boy unions and their ilk to keep them in power. Dust off your pitchforks Torontonians!

Absolutely bad judgement, Miller & his cronies do not understand the serious economic problems in Toronto, pure greed!!!

Nothing new here. Things like this have been going on for years at the Federal, Provincial, and Municipal level. It seems every year that fewer and fewer people are voting. Is it any wonder? Some of the comments that I have seen and heard over the years are for example: “It doesn’t matter who you vote for they are all the same and will do what they want.” “They make promises that they don’t plan to keep.” “They are in it for the money and the perks.” They are all liars and cheats” “They do not represent the people, they represent their parties.”

We Canadians are fooling ourselves if we believe that we have Democratic representative governments. WE DO NOT! How often has a so called “elected representative” asked the people of his or her riding how they felt about an important issue? Federal,and Provincial so called “elected representatives” have to follow party lines and not the wishes of the people who elected them.

This example is symptomatic of the disgusting sense of entitlement, greed and complete disregard for the electorate that is exibited by representatives in all levels of government. No wonder they want to disarm the population.

Don C

What gives with this concept of “merit pay” anyway? It may seem reasonable at a cursory glance but it almost never works in practice. A few school boards tried this some years ago but it failed miserably because if they gave the raise to various underlings, no matter how well deserved, their department heads and administrators would realize that their own positions were in jeopardy. This would be begging the question. Ergo,only those in positions of responsibility were “deserving” of merit pay which they were already recieving anyway. The same thing would apply to government employees at any level.

Legal Stealing

Although I do not live in the City of Toronto, I find most politians lacking in judgement and have forgot to lead by example. I would like to hear a plan for the City of Toronto before it is too late and they go the way of some U.S. cities.

I completely agree with you re Toronto council wastage but it must be said again; “Torontonians vote this mess into office, therefore they desrve what they get which to my mind is not enough to wake them up. But, thay are socalists and so goes stupidity.

This is happening at every level of government and to a great degree in big business. There is a separation taking place between government employees in senior positions and big business executives from the general population, a huge income gap is appearing. Those in charge have lost all respect for average workers and are not only at the trough they are in it.We can’t shake this phenomenon in government because all parties seem to support it, as to big business, there seems to be no immediate solution other than to tax the oversize incomes big time.

So sad, but oh, so true; Mayor Miller (or shall I say “Commissar Miller”) and his supportive leftist Councillors are leading Toronto down a path that will destroy the magnificent Toronto that we know and love. This down-trend will not change until enough Torontonians arise and unite to fight for the creation of the Province of Toronto. It is only that way that Toronto can regain control of its destiny, and lead Canada forward.

It seems to me that the average person in Toronto and Ontario has succombed to socialism, and you know where that leads a country too. They have been indoctrinated in the liberal way for so many years that the young people think that someone else will pay for their services. The old addage “if you don’t produce something a day, you don’t eat”. There must be someone there to start turning things around. The people are sick of paying for overcompensated gov’t and their coherts (unions, etc).

A big part of the problem is that Miller is being totally let off of the hook by the media who are refusing to look at his actions critically (the Toronto Sun excepted!). His latest outrage was to double commuting costs by imposing a new $6/day parking charge for the countless thousands of TTC commuters effective April 1st. This was a blatent and greedy revenue harvest attempt - and a massive backdoor tax increase (over $1500/yr). Not surprising previous commuters are now finding alternatives & staying away in droves. The TTC Parking lots I saw were down by over 80%! This is obviously leading to a lot of extra traffic gridlock & pollution and Miller’s previous pious support for the public transit & the environment has been reduced to a hypocritical farce. Yet - where has the media been on this?? Very little is being said! Why??

You are taking tha wrong approach, It will take you years to read all of th answers that you will receive.
Simply refrase the question to ask for a government (municipal through federal) where there is no government waste and it will only take you a few minutes to read it.

All these letters and comments are being circulated among the wise believers, and I wonder if the idiots in City Hall ever get to read what real people think about them.

Is there a way in which you can ensure that the socialists get copies of our thoughts?